Your Name:

Stephanie Sharp

A Little Bit About Me:

I’m 23 years old and was born and raised in Auckland. I have been acting since a young age and am trained for both screen and musical theatre with experience in both. I am also a qualified makeup artist & hairstylist, specialising in wigs and makeup for theatre.

The Character I Play and Why I Love Playing Them:

I play ‘Tam the Elf’ in ‘A Very Gloomy Holiday’. I’ve always loved Christmas – it’s my favorite time of year – so obviously, playing a Christmas elf is a lot of fun. I love that Tam is bubbly, carefree & enthusiastic. She acts upon impulse rather than strategy or logic, so she is a lot like me in many ways.

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals are a lot of fun. It’s great being able to work with a group of such talented, wonderful friends and in such a collaborative environment. New ideas or ways of approaching certain things are always welcomed and encouraged. It’s also been awesome for me to watch the puppeteers at work as that’s something I have no previous experience in. ”

Your Name:

Why do you have to start with the difficult questions? Hang on while I check my driving license… Ah, here we are, my name is “NZ Driving License”… Oh no, wrong bit, sorry… It’s “Adam Fresco”…

A Little Bit About Me:

I was born in London, UK. My father was a famous sports photographer (Monte Fresco MBE). After working in professional British Theatres directing, producing, writing and acting, I wound up working for ITV Television, where for ten years I directed, wrote and produced everything from kids shows, to short films and documentaries. Ten years ago, I came to New Zealand, where I was Director of South Seas Film and Television School, and became a movie critic for New Zealand’s number one online film site, Flicks.co.nz, and writer for The Ugly Shakespeare Company – both of which I still do, even today as Producer for Whoa! Studios live and recorded productions. I even found time recently to gain a Masters in Creative Writing from The University of Auckland, and working as part of the wonderful team at Whoa! Studios gives me the opportunity to write, direct, perform and produce for stage and screen. Every day is a new adventure, with fresh things to learn, new people to meet and unique challenges to get excited about!

The Characters I Play and What I Love About Playing Them:

COLIN: As he’s a character I created, Colin was a great chance to play myself – only exaggerated. At least I think he’s a magnified version of me – other people just think he is me! Which is odd, because Colin is bald, overweight, wears glasses, is a bit dim and loves to keep things clean and tidy! And I certainly don’t keep my desk or bedroom tidy… Anyway, Colin was lots of fun to write, and loads of fun to play. He’s very silly, often in trouble with his Boss, Dr. Gloom, but always eager to please and happy to help. Even though Dr Gloom thinks of him more as a hindrance!

DOODLE TV ANNOUNCER: Playing the TV Announcer was a pure joy as he’s very, very over the top, like the kind of guys they used to get to voice Hollywood movie trailers. It’s a great chance to over-act, over-enunciate, and generally overdo it. We had a lot of fun creating the opening titles of Buzz’s favorite TV show – ‘Space Aliens From Outer-Space!’ – for the show, and it was a blast being able to pretend I was voicing a real old-fashioned Hollywood B-movie trailer.

Rehearsals:

Rehearsals have been a joy. That’s largely because we have such a wonderful cast, crew and supportive colleagues here at Whoa! Studios. Everyone mucks in, and there’s a real collaborative sense of working together to produce something special. In my role I get to wear many hats (often quite literally!), not just as an actor, but as the writer of the script, based on the ideas and input of the whole team, as Director of the show, as Producer, and as the person in charge of making sure there’s milk in the office fridge! That’s part of what makes Whoa! Studios such a magical place to work – everyone has a hand in every aspect of production, and every idea is listened to. So, whilst I’d love to tell you how hard it is, how tough, demanding and grueling – I can’t. Because, more often than not, the sound coming out of rehearsals for our first CUSTARD’S WORLD show has been laughter. Oh, and singing. And then laughing again!

Kick Arts Interview Whoa! Studios actors Rebekah Head & Paul Lewis

Live shows run every Wednesday and Thursday at 11am, and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11am and 2pm throughout January! All seats just $25 including same-day park access for kids (special limited time offer, as seats are usually $39 / $29)”

The incredible performers of Whoa! Studios – Terry, Adam, Rebekah, Paul, Jon and Steph will be regularly sharing their diaries with us. Keeping us up to date with all the fun they are having while preparing for our first Custard’s World show – A Very Gloomy Holiday.

A new diary entry from one performer will be posted each week. If you have any questions you would like to ask them, please feel free to post your query in the comment section.